SBI, Rakuten prepare bitcoin and ether trusts for Japan retail investors

SBI Securities and Rakuten Securities are preparing Bitcoin (BTC) and Ether (ETH) trust products for retail clients in Japan, people familiar with the plans said Sunday, the latest sign that regulated crypto access is broadening beyond the ETF-heavy U.S. market. Both firms are developing the products in-house, which would let retail investors gain exposure to the two largest digital assets through the country’s biggest online brokerage networks rather than standalone crypto exchanges.

Whether Japan’s securities industry can get familiar packaging around crypto before the rule book catches up is the open question. Tokyo’s Financial Services Agency is reviewing the Investment Trust Act but is not expected to finish until 2028, according to Bitcoin.com News. Brokers, in the meantime, are preparing distribution for a market that may be broader once the legal framework firms up.

BeInCrypto reported that the first planned products stick to bitcoin and ether. The narrow scope fits a conservative wrapper aimed at mainstream investors. Japan already has venues for direct crypto trading. Trust structures cater to a different client: someone who wants fund-like exposure inside an existing securities account, where custody, disclosure and distribution are handled by established financial groups.

A survey cited by Bitcoin.com News found that 11 of 18 Japanese brokerages would consider crypto-related investment products once the rules are final. The same report said policymakers are weighing a 20 per cent tax rate on crypto gains, against a current top rate of 55 per cent. The gap between those two numbers helps explain why SBI and Rakuten’s plans read as groundwork for a broader retail market, not a one-off product test. A trust is not a listed spot fund. But it still lets brokerages test marketing, custody arrangements and client appetite inside a wrapper that is easier to sell to mainstream savers than direct token dealing.

Japan’s brokerage route

The U.S. template has been the exchange-traded fund. Spot bitcoin ETFs now hold more than $100 billion in net assets in the United States, CoinDesk noted, a scale that has helped normalize listed crypto exposure for institutions and advisers. Japan’s route, for now, looks more brokerage-led. Trusts can offer a regulated wrapper but sit closer to the distribution model used for mutual funds and other packaged investments sold through securities accounts.

How that difference plays out could shape adoption. In the U.S., the ETF became a bridge between crypto-native venues and conventional portfolios. In Japan, a trust launched by SBI or Rakuten would test whether mainstream brokerages can make digital-asset exposure feel ordinary for households that do not want to open separate exchange accounts or manage token custody. Distribution matters as much as demand here. The firms appear to be building retail rails now, ahead of Tokyo settling the final regulatory architecture.

Several things remain unclear. None of the reports settle launch timing, fee terms or whether these wrappers would eventually sit alongside spot crypto ETFs if Japan relaxes fund rules further. They also offer no read on how quickly investors would shift if tax treatment changes. But the direction of travel is plain: firms are designing products now rather than waiting for every regulatory detail to land.

For crypto markets, that direction matters more than a short-lived price move. Japan’s biggest online brokerages are preparing the kind of wrapper that can bring new buyers in through ordinary investment accounts while regulators work through the legal architecture. If those rules do change by 2028, SBI and Rakuten may already have the retail pipes in place, giving them a head start in a market where regulated access appears to be widening beyond the ETF-heavy U.S. model.